YEAR IN CHEMISTRY RESEARCH
Each compartment in Evatar contains a functioning model of different parts of the female reproductive tract.
Artificial female reproductive systems debuted A menstrual cycle mimic and artificial ovary topped new developments
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C&EN | CEN.ACS.ORG | DECEMBER 11/18, 2017
C R E D I T: NAT. CO M MU N. ( EVATA R ) ; N O RTH WESTE R N ME D I C I N E ( D I AG RAM)
T
he female reproductive system is complicated. Its multiple organs, tissues, and hormones all have to work in concert to function properly. Imagine trying to replicate that in an artificial device. That’s what Teresa K. Woodruff of Northwestern University and coworkers did this year, reporting multiple advances in TISSUE ENGINEERING making engineered versions of this system. First, Woodruff ’s Ovarian, fallopian tube, uterine, team reported a miand cervical tissues are grown crofluidic device called in the Evatar device. the Evatar that reproduces the hormone profiles of the 28-day menstrual cycle (Nat. Commun. 2017, DOI: 10.1038/ ncomms14584). Evatar contains modules with cultured tissue from mouse ovary and human fallopian tube, uterus, cervix, and reproductive system. Her team plans to liver connected by microfluidic add modules with other types of tissues to channels and pumps. The reinvestigate how hormones such as estrogen searchers initiate the menstrual affect other systems in the body. Currently cycle by adding follicle-stimuthe researchers have pancreas organoids lating hormone. In response, the producing insulin to provide on-device ovary module produces estrogen. metabolism, and they are using testis and At day 14, they add luteinizing prostate cultures to study the toxicity of hormone to trigger ovulation. drugs on male testosterone production. In response, the ovary module In other work, Woodruff teamed up stops producing estrogen and with Ramille N. Shah of Northwestern to starts producing progesterone. make artificial ovaries (Nat. Commun. 2017, Woodruff and her coworkers are receiv- DOI: 10.1038/ncomms15261). They seeded ing funding from the U.S. National Instithree-dimensionally printed gelatin scaftutes of Health to adapt the technology to folds with ovarian follicles, which are the create models of diseases that affect restructures that house immature eggs. When productive-age women, such as polycystic the researchers implanted seeded scaffolds ovary syndrome, fibroids, and endometriin mice whose ovaries had been surgically osis. They also have a grant from the Bill & removed, the mice were able to mate and Melinda Gates Foundation to further debear young naturally. Prosthetic ovaries invelop the technology to find new methods corporating human follicles are more chalof contraception. lenging to build, Woodruff admits, but she Woodruff doesn’t expect to stop at the sees them on the horizon.—CELIA ARNAUD
